About the High School Huddle

Welcome to the Citizen-Times' constantly-updated blog for Western North Carolina high school sports. Features include breaking news, scores and stats, college recruiting updates and live blogs from some of the marquee games in WNC. Readers are encouraged to comment on posts, but personal attacks on current athletes, coaches and their families will not be tolerated and are subject to edit or removal at the moderator's discretion.

Reynolds alum Ben Councell (30) made four tackles, including a safety, in Saturday’s spring game for Notre Dame football.

Former Reynolds football standout Ben Councell is a linebacker for Notre Dame, but still found a way to score a couple points in the Fighting Irish’s spring game on Saturday.

More from The Associated Press:

SOUTH BEND, Ind – The Notre Dame offense has a lot of work to do before the fall.

A quarterback who finished high school four months ago and isn’t expected to play in the fall accounted for the only touchdown in the annual spring game and nose guard Louis Nix provided the highlight, rumbling in for a two-point conversion. But it was the defense that dominated with 10 sacks, two interceptions and linebacker Ben Councell tackling running back Cam McDaniel in the end zone for a safety in winning 54-43 under a modified scoring system.

The offense had a touchdown and Nick Tausch kicked three field goals and missed another.

Councell finished with the fifth-most tackles of any Notre Dame defender (four). The 2011 Rockets graduate will be a junior for the Fighting Irish next season.

Tuscola senior Collin Purrman has signed to swim in college for Iona (N.Y.).

Purrman was the Western North Carolina Athletic Conference meet’s most valuable performer and the Ironman meet runner-up this past season.

He placed sixth in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCHSAA 3-A meet and swam a WNC-best time of 1:47.74 in the event. His other top events were the 100-yard backstroke (56.50) and 500-yard freestyle (4:56.75).

Former Tuscola standout Cody Stubbs doubled three times Sunday as top-ranked North Carolina completed a series sweep of visiting Duke with a 10-1 win in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels improved to 39-2 overall and 18-2 in the ACC.

For the season, Stubbs (who is a senior first baseman) is batting .369 with a team-high total for doubles (16). He ranks second in RBIs with 52. North Carolina is coached by Asheville native Mike Fox.

More on Sunday’s game from UNC:

CHAPEL HILL — No. 1 North Carolina pounded out 10 runs on 16 hits and the Tar Heels completed a three-game sweep of Duke with a 10-1 win over the Blue Devils Sunday afternoon in front of a regular season record crowd of 4,255 at Boshamer Stadium. Every UNC starter recorded a hit, and Brian Holberton drove in four runs and thumped his eighth home run of the season. Cody Stubbs and Parks Jordan added three hits as Carolina improved to 39-2 and 18-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference action.

Hobbs Johnson (2-0) scattered six hits and three walks over 7.1 scoreless innings, and Trevor Kelley got the final five outs to give UNC its 14th consecutive victory and its ninth win in a row over the Blue Devils (22-20, 8-13 ACC).

Carolina got to Duke starter Robert Huber early and often, touching him up for seven runs in 4.1 innings. Holberton opened the scoring in the first, blasting a 2-0 pitch out to right to give the Tar Heels a quick 3-0 lead.

UNC added single runs in the third and fourth and two more in the fifth to give Johnson plenty of breathing room. The junior lefty won his second straight start with his longest outing of the season, working into the eighth for just the second time in his career. Duke didn’t get a runner past second until the seventh when Johnson stranded a pair in scoring position by enducing a pop to short and a flyout.

Stubbs ripped his third double of the afternoon in the seventh and came around to score on a two-run single by Parks Jordan to push the lead to 9-0. Brian Holberton doubled in a run in the eighth before Duke pulled a run back in the ninth to provide the final tally of 10-1.

Carolina continues its trip through the Old North State this week as the Tar Heels host UNC Wilmington Tuesday, Charlotte Wednesday and head to NC State Friday.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Citizen-Times/Western North Carolina Athlete of the Week awards.

To nominate an athlete in any of the spring sports which are currently taking place (baseball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis and track), leave a comment on this blog post or you may vote anonymously by sending an e-mail to apearson@citizen-times.com.

Nominations will be accepted through Sunday with the winners being announced Monday here on the HS Huddle blog.

Whiteside was named the girls meet’s most valuable performer for track events.

Asheville High (105) won the boys team title, with Roberson (79) coming in second.

Soule, Gordon, Lily Anderson and Casey Greenwalt pulled double duty this weekend. The foursome took first place in the distance-medley Friday night at the Tri-Cities Track Classic in Johnson City, Tenn.

“I’m very pleased with my performance. It was unexpected,” Soule said of Saturday’s meet. “I was surprised. But it was great to see everyone run so well. The conditions were excellent.”

Mariah Richardson reached the finish line first in the 100-meter hurdles (16.30) for the host Rockets, who also won the 400-meter relay (51.45).

North Buncombe’s girls capped off the meet by taking first place in the 1,600-meter relay (4:14.63). The Black Hawks will host the Mountain Athletic Conference meet on Wednesday.

Saturday’s weather was unseasonably cool, but it did not do much to affect the throwing of Hendersonville senior Hailey Cook or Reynolds senior Chris Cubra.

Cook, who has signed with Western Carolina University, threw 42 feet, 2 inches in the shot put and also won the discus (135-7). Likewise for Cubra, who will continue his career at Brown. He tossed the shot 55-7 and the discus 150-9.

Cook was named the girls meet’s most valuable field events performer. Her shot put mark, as well as the one for Cubra, were meet records.

“It’s a good relief,” Cubra said. “I think it was my fifth throw, so it took a little while to get it. But it’s a good feeling. I’m definitely looking forward to everything with regionals and state coming up.”